A Rose By Any Other Name
by CoutureWriting
Summary: Can a heartbreakingly beautiful maiden of the court tame the heart of a king? Or are status and class more important?


CHAPTER ONE

I do not remember the first time I realised I was beautiful. I cannot be sure, but I think it was upon the eve of my thirteenth birthday, when I first ventured into Lady Eowyn's room to clean. After fixing her bed sheets, I turned, and was frozen by the reflection in the looking glass. The girl staring back was young, though with an air of grace about her from growing up in the company of royalty. Her skin was pale – perhaps from spending too much time indoors – and a pair of wide eyes stared, which were neither violet, nor navy, but a shade in-between. My hair had been allowed to grow long, and it reached almost to my lower back, and was a charcoal black. My cheeks were a natural, pale rose colour to match my full lips. I drew in breath.

Another six years had passed, and I was now an adult. I had grown tall, and my hips and chest had filled out, though I remained slender somehow. I was always dressed simply – a uniform blouse and long skirt. I had become friends with Lady Eowyn and had taken up the position as her handmaiden, a position I was forever grateful for.

'Roselle, be honest, I beg you. How do I look?' Lady Eowyn was dressed from head-to-toe in an exquisite white-gold dress that brought out the flecks of gold in her hair and eyes. She was unaware that she had interrupted my day-dreaming, and proceeded to spin in front of me, to give me view of every possible angle.

'You look lovely, ma'am,' I told her truthfully. She glowed, and glanced at her reflection. Her hair hung untouched down her back, and she ran her fingers through it. 'Would you like me to...?'

'If you wouldn't mind – but please, something simple,' she murmured. I approached her and reached out for her hair. She watched me in the mirror intently as I worked, making tiny plaits, a mixture of gold ribbon and her hair. When I was finished, she smiled at me.

'There you go, ma'am.' She looked lovely, and I was almost proud of myself. She stood up, and fetched her slippers from under the bed and pulled them on before turning to me.

'Oh! How selfish of me, Roselle. We must get you dressed, musn't we? You can't possibly miss tonight, Eomer's coming home! He's been gone three years!' she told me excitedly.

'Oh, ma'am, I really think I'd better not come out tonight. I'm feeling a little unwell, and I'm sure my absence wouldn't dampen the festivities,' I was quick to reply.

The fact was that I hated social gatherings. Eomer's return would surely mean the largest celebration than the court had seen in years. I hated the closeness.

'Nonsense, there, you shall borrow one of my dresses,' Lady Eowyn insisted. She pulled two dresses from where they hung in her wardrobe, and thrust them at me. 'Which one do you like better? The red would look stunning with your hair, I think.'

Reluctantly, I took the red dress and shyly took off my skirt and blouse. Lady Eowyn didn't seem bothered as she helped me into the dress.

'I don't think we should touch your hair, it's perfect like that,' murmured Eowyn. 'I think you're ready. Oh!' Eowyn saw my shoes and recoiled. She pulled a pair of red slippers from the wardrobe and held them to my feet. They looked slightly too small, but I was able to get my feet into them without too much trouble.

'There, you are perfect,' she told me. 'Shall we go? I think Eomer's here. It's been so long, and he hardly ever writes.'

I nodded, and she led me out of the bedroom and into the hallway. She was brimming with excitement where I was dreading the festivities.

'I shouldn't be surprised if no one recognises you,' Eowyn told me. 'You hardly look yourself.'

We came to the doors that led to the hall. She pushed them open without a moment's hesitation and stepped inside. The noise hit me first, and then the sight. Men outnumbered women at least three to one, and each had their mug raised in the direction of the throne. A pillar blocked my view of the throne, but as Eowyn and I rounded the corner, I caught sight of Eomer.

He was sprawled back in the throne, a relaxed smile spread across his face. He had grown handsomer in the years past – or perhaps it was my own maturity that made me see him in a different light. I took a deep breath and followed Eowyn.

'Sister!' Eomer stood and strode over to Eowyn, lifting her from the ground in a tight embrace. She laughed and as he put her down, she held his shoulders and studied him.

'How I've missed you brother,' she told him.

He turned his gaze to me, and I met his eyes for a moment, before I curtseyed as low as I could. When I straightened, his attention was elsewhere.

'Come,' Eowyn instructed me, and we took seats at a table and Eowyn located two mugs of mead for us, even though she knew I was no drinker.

The hours seemed to pass like months, taking an age to end. 'Excuse me, ma'am. Would you permit me to retire? I'm so tired, honestly, I am,' I told her finally.

Lady Eowyn fixed me with a stare before she shrugged and nodded. 'If you insist.'

I got myself up and thanked her for the loan of her dress, and then turned my back on her and left the room. I hurried down the corridor as quickly as I could, anxious to shut the evening out.

'Excuse me! Please, wait!'

I turned, and saw a young man sprinting down the corridor after me. I curtseyed as he was almost upon me.

'Yes, sir? How can I help you?' I asked him, puzzled.

'Pardon me, miss. You just looked so beautiful this evening, I felt compelled to tell you,' he told me.

I was startled. 'Oh, thank you.' I thought he would turn and leave, but he moved closer to me, uncomfortably close.

'I've missed seeing ladies like yourself. There isn't much to entertain a young man out in the middle of nowhere, that much I know.'

I backed away from him. 'Thank you for the compliment, kind sir, but I honestly think I'd best be going back to my room.'

'Just a moment,' he insisted. 'What's the rush? Would you like to come back to my quarters? I have something for you.'

'For me?' I was flattered, but this young man was backing me against the wall. 'Thank you very much, but I cannot accept.'

'Don't play games with me,' he snapped. My eyes widened as he reached for my waist. 'I've had enough of games.'

He got a good hold of my waist and pulled me closer. I resisted, but he grabbed my wrists.

'I want you, and I shall have you, don't try that purity shit on me, whore.' He pushed me hard against the wall and pulled the front of my dress in two, revealing my bodice underneath. He fiddled with his breeches, before lifting my skirt up and lifting me up against the wall.

'NO! No, please!' I screamed at him. Tears began to run down my cheeks as I tried to push him away.

'Shut up, you little harlot,' he whispered. 'And I'll think twice about slitting your throat when I'm done.'

'Take your hands off her,' a different voice cut through my attackers unwanted whispers. 'Let her down now, or I shall cut you apart where you stand.'

I turned and saw through my tear-filled eyes that Eomer stood a few feet away from us, staring at my attacker, disgust, anger and malice written all over his face.

'My lord,' the man let me to the floor, but my legs couldn't hold my weight up and I collapsed to the floor. 'We were, uh, just having a moment... you know how it is, my lord–'

'Do not speak to me of such things. This lady asked you to stop. Your comrades have managed to control themselves tonight. Leave! You are hereby banished from my kingdom and I will see to it that if you return, you will be killed.'

I did not see what happened next. A few moments later, and Eomer was in front of me, kneeling. His hands reached out to cup mine, and pull them away from my face.

'Roselle, what possessed you to be so stupid as to wander these corridors at night, alone? Did my sister not warn you?'

I could not answer him and I would not. I sobbed as he pulled me to my feet and supported my weight against his body. He gathered me up into his arms in a moment, and was carrying me down the corridor.

'Did he...?' his voice drifted off and I did not answer him. 'Talk to me Roselle! Breathe.'

_Breathe_.

'No. You reached me before... You saved my virtue.'

'You were incredibly lucky, do you understand that? Do you understand what would have happened if he had... if he had been with you?' he demanded.

I nodded.

'You are not sixteen anymore, Roselle. Men do not see you in the same way they once did. You are no child in their eyes.'

'And what am I in yours?' I asked.

'What are you asking?'

I did not answer him, and he did not seek one. He pushed open a door with his foot and walked in to a room. I glanced around and saw that it was his room – his bedroom.

'My lord, I...'

'Silence, Roselle. You shall have my bed. Try to get some sleep, and do not entice any more men tonight.'

'I am sorry, my lord. I should have been more careful.'

'You should have, but you are safe now,' Eomer said quietly. He reached for my hand and pressed his lips against it, and in another moment, he was gone.


End file.
